These are the sermons that I preach each week. And some other things, too.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Progressive Christianity: Loving People, Loving Theology

I’ve been
reading Rachel Held Evans’ book Searching
for Sunday. It’s been an enjoyable read (as long as you allow that time I
was brought to tears as part of enjoying the book). In this book, as well as
her other book that I read, it’s clear: Rachel cares about people. That is
really important to her. She looks around her and sees so much hurt, and it
bothers her. (I think that her doubts are from her inability to put together
such pain with a God who loves.)

My tribe does
not have the reputation of caring about people. If anything, Reformed pastors
are known for caring about theology. Our claim to fame (or infamy!) is that we
are very careful, very precise when it comes to understanding the Bible. I’m
guessing that it’s my tribe that Rachel has the hardest time with.

Over the
years, Jesus has been teaching me about caring about people and caring for
people. I am sure that not all that long ago I would have thrown Rachel’s book
against a nearby wall while thinking, ‘She just doesn’t understand the Bible!’
Now, her concerns bring me to tears as I think, ‘Yep, she’s right’.

But I haven’t
come to the point of jettisoning theology. I am convinced that there is a way
of combining a deep concern for theology and a deep concern for people. In
fact, I am convinced that the way that we best care for people is by having a
deep concern for theology, by being very careful when it comes to understanding
the Bible. And I think this because it describes Jesus.

Does anyone
doubt that Jesus cared about the people? That’s really hard to miss. But what
can be missed is that Jesus also cared about theology. Consider some things
that He said.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have
not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law
until all is accomplished. (This is part of the Sermon on the Mount.)

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him
who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

These are
theological comments rooted in a careful understanding of the Bible. And Jesus
said them because He cared about people.

So, people
like Rachel and people like me need to work together to understand better how
to care for people by caring about theology. That’s probably a tall order, but
it just seems right.